Medical Staff Updates

The second annual AAMC Joint Outcomes Report: provides a summary of the joint replacement program’s patient-reported outcomes, clinical measures, and operational and financial data. New to this year’s report is a specific focus on the Multidisciplinary Rapid Recovery Protocol. Now in its second year of implementation, this integrated, patient-centered care model is driving continuous improvement across the full continuum of care for our patients.

Consistently ranked the highest-volume joint replacement program in the state, AAMC now performs more than 2,000 surgeries each year—the first program in Maryland to do so. Patients not only come to our program from all across Maryland, but from all over the country to regain independence and improve their quality of life. Now in its second year of publication, this report highlights the many notable achievements of our program. We believe publishing these healthcare outcomes enhances our culture of continuous improvement and increases value for patients. At AAMC, our joint replacement team is dedicated to continuously improving the care of our patients, and our program is proud to be a leader in presenting transparent results.

The Fortney Breast Center is enrolling patients for a study collecting information about the BioZorb tissue marker. BioZorb is an FDA-approved, three-dimensional device a surgeon places after removing tissue from the breast. The study focuses on BioZorb’s use during and after surgery to locate the exact site of tissue removal. To learn more, contact Reema Andrade, clinical research coordinator, at x5749.

James Welker, DO, and the Research Institute are conducting a clinical trial studying the effectiveness of Bococizumab, a PCSK9 Inhibitor. This is a new class of drug shown to drastically reduce LDL cholesterol levels in patients with high cholesterol. These patients include those whose LDL cholesterol level remains high despite taking cholesterol-lowering medications and patients who cannot tolerate other cholesterol-lowering medication. If you or someone you know would benefit from learning more about this study, contact Kathy Gray, RN, at x5868 or Kristine Wood, RN, at x5738.

The Anne Arundel Medical Group Plastic Surgery team is made up of highly-trained surgeons with expertise in all forms of reconstructive surgery, including microsurgery and cosmetic surgery. Located in the AAMC Belcher Pavilion, the team provides inpatient plastic surgery services and sees patients in the Breast Center and the AAMG Surgical Specialists office. The practice can be reached at 443-481-3400.

Providers include:

Devinder Singh, MD, Chief and Medical Director of Plastic Surgery. Dr. Singh is an internationally-known plastic surgeon. He is board-certified in plastic surgery and a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons and the Northeastern Society of Plastic Surgeons. He is the current chair of the Maryland State Board of Physicians and serves on the Maryland State Medical Society (MedChi)’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Singh is a nationally-recognized expert in the fields of complex recurrent ventral hernia repair and wound care. He specializes in cosmetic surgery of the breast and abdomen as well as surgery repair. He completed his residency at Yale University for a combined residency in general and plastic surgery in New Haven, Conn. He attended medical school at Columbia University in New York.

Tripp Holton, MD, Director of Microvascular Surgery. Dr. Holton is a board-certified, fellowship-trained plastic and reconstructive surgeon. He has extensive expertise in reconstructive microsurgery including reconstruction of the head and neck, breast and extremities. He focuses on breast and body contouring as well as facial aesthetic surgery. Dr. Holton is also active in research in the areas of biomaterials and biotechnology. He completed a fellowship in plastic and reconstructive surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Md. He completed a residency in general surgery at University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Md. He attended medical school at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, Pa.

Virginia Lobach, PA-C. Virginia joined the AAMG Plastic Surgery department after completing a one-year surgical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Virginia completed her physician assistant training at the University of Kentucky and received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from College of Charleston in South Carolina.

After 16 years of service, Heidi Katz, supervisor, Physician Relations, has retired. Heidi joined AAMC in 1999 as a marketing associate supporting Health Care Enterprises’ (HCE) physician recruitment efforts (now Physician Enterprise/Anne Arundel Medical Group) and field-based promotion of programs and specialists. She went on to work on the Business Development team for nine years and in Marketing/Communications for seven years. Best wishes, Heidi!

The Heart and Vascular Unit was recently recognized with an Excellence through Insight award for “Overall Inpatient Telemetry Patient Experience” for a large hospital by HealthStream, Inc. AAMC was awarded this honor for its commitment to excellence in patient care. To qualify for an award, a hospital must have been a patient experience-tracking client of HealthStream in 2014, scored in the 75th percentile or higher, and surveyed a minimum of 100 patients. AAMC’s Heart and Vascular Unit is the highest ranked unit within HealthStream’s database and exceeded industry standards in patient experience.

AAMC has been recognized as one of the most connected hospitals for 2015-16 by U.S. News & World Report, the only Maryland hospital to receive this recognition. The U.S. News Most Connected Hospitals list recognizes hospitals whose excellence in patient safety, patient engagement and clinical connectedness improves patient care.

This is not the first time AAMC has been recognized for its electronic connectedness. AAMC has been named six times as one of the national Most Wired™ hospitals and health systems by Hospitals & Health Networks.

“One of the reasons AAMC is recognized for this honor is because of the extensive collaboration among all AAMC departments and for our forward thinking use of technologies, such as our electronic medical record system that assists physicians, nurses and patients to communicate efficiently,” says Barbara Baldwin, AAMC chief information officer.

In response to the changing technological landscape AAMC has shown an adaptability and commitment to staying ahead of the curve:

Dashboards: AAMC’s electronic medical records allow for automated population health analytics so reminders are sent to patients with chronic health conditions to have a checkup.

Inter-hospital communication: Physicians can view and exchange other facilities’ results and get in contact with patients through email and alerts.

Patient portals: AAMC’s MyChart portal enables patients to review their own care results and communicate securely with their care providers for such needs as prescription renewals as well as offering self-management tools for patients with chronic conditions.

To identify the Most Connected Hospitals, U.S. News analyzed dozens of variables spanning three domains of medicine where electronic connectedness came to make a difference to patients. U.S. News assigned domain-specific scores and an overall score to each hospital for which it could obtain data from the most recent AHA Annual Survey Information Technology Supplement, an IT survey that the American Hospital Association administers to hospitals nationwide. Hospitals that earned at least 70 out of 75 points in the 2014 IT survey or 55 out of 61 points in the 2013 survey and also achieved national ranking or high performing recognition in the current edition of Best Hospitals, Best Hospitals for Common Care or Best Children’s Hospitals were recognized as Most Connected Hospitals. In all, 158 hospitals made the Most Connected Hospitals 2015-16 list.

What is VisualDx?

VisualDx is one of the most widely used medical apps in the world to improve diagnostic accuracy, medical education and patient education. VisualDx is already licensed by more than 50% of US medical schools including Harvard, Yale, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, UCLA, USC, UNC, University of Washington, and many more. Over the past 3 years, it has been voted among the top favorite apps multiple times at Harvard and University of Pennsylvania. It is one of the top rated databases in KLAS, which is the Consumer Reports of databases. It will give any visual pictures connected with a disease, as well as the new ICD10 codes; pearls of wisdom; treatment and references connected with dresources. There is also a mobile app. Questions: call Joyce Miller, Medical Librarian ext. 4877.